Star Guitar - Live Listening Map

Star Guitar Listening Map:  Teacher Notes

Star Guitar is a really fun video for younger or older students alike and is an awesome way for your students to see a visual representation of what they’re hearing.   The idea of the video is that you are in a fast moving train looking at the terrain as it quickly passes you by.  As you watch this video you can tell that what’s happening on the screen matches everything that’s happening in the music. 

When the music slows, the train slows; when certain sounds repeat, certain objects show up over and over on the screen; when sounds ebb and flow the picture might go from night to day or might show the cross section of a hill.  It’s a really creative and interesting process to show the progression of sound in a visual way. 

​There are times when I’ll notice something in the song because I see a recurring pattern of objects and sometimes vice versa.  Most of all, it gets your kids thinking and is a great hook and segue into a lesson on listening maps.  Doubtless they’ll want to see it twice and honestly, that’s not a bad idea.  They’ll see so much more the second time around that they wouldn’t have noticed the first time.  I know I did!

What I share with kids:

Sometimes musicians create music videos to tell a story.  Sometimes they do it just to have a bit of fun.  Sometimes they create music videos to make a visual representation of the music.  That means they make a video where the images on the screen match the beat, or dynamics, or feel of the song.  

In this video, the images on the screen match the patterns in the music.  Watch closely and you'll be able to see how the images match the major beats.  When we get to a new section of the music things on the screen will change or we'll end up in a new place. 

Video will not embed.  Click here to watch on YouTube

Once you've watched the video once or twice, use the space below to describe how you saw the video match the sounds you heard.  Did the picture match a rhythm?  Did it match the dynamics/volume of the music?  Did the video help show the form of the song?  Tell me below!